Volleyball Falls in Five Sets to App State

Friday, September 27

Harrisonburg, Va.

6 p.m.

James Madison University

5-7,0-2Sun Belt

App State

8-5,2-0Sun Belt

App State

James Madison

9/27/2024 11:06:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – App State used a balanced offense and a stout defense to storm back from a 2-0 deficit to take down James Madison (25-23, 25-23, 21-25, 24-26, 9-15) on Friday evening in Sun Belt Conference volleyball action inside the Convocation Center.

JMU (5-7, 0-2) finished with 18 blocks, but App State (8-5, 2-0) held the Dukes to a .151 hitting clip and also recorded 76 digs and 10 blocks.

Junior Brenya Reid led the Dukes, finishing with career-highs in kills (21) and digs (10), as the outside hitter recorded the first double-double of her career. Sarah Schnell totaled 12 kills and 12 blocks – both career-bests, while Jaydyn Clemmer picked up 23 digs. Olivia Vance notched 12 kills and Rebecca Watkins finished with 26 assists.

Four App State players finished with double-digit kills, led by Maya Winterhoff's 15. Elise Marchal and Addison Heidemann picked up double-digit digs, while Heidemann also recorded a career-high 54 assists.

How It Happened
First Set: James Madison 25-23

App State gained an early advantage, jumping ahead 15-10 at the media timeout.
The Mountaineers held a 22-19 lead before the Dukes scored six of the last seven points of the set to come away with the victory and take a 1-0 lead.
JMU's block came alive as the Dukes blocked the Mountaineers three times in the last four points of the set.

Second Set: James Madison 25-23

The Dukes jumped to a 7-2 lead before App State called a timeout.
JMU held a seven-point lead (18-11) before the Mountaineers rattled off six in a row to bring the score to 18-17 and later tie it at 19-19.
Lulu Ambrose picked up a kill to cut the App State deficit to 24-23 but a side-out kill from Reid gave the Dukes a 2-0 lead.

Third Set: App State 25-21

JMU gained an early lead (8-4) but the Mountaineers clawed back to take a 13-12 lead on a kill from Ava Leahy.
App State pulled ahead 22-17, the Dukes scored four in a row, capped off by two aces from Annie Smith, to cut the lead to 22-21.
The Mountaineers scored three in a row to fend off JMU and force a fourth set.

Fourth Set: App State 26-24

App State forced a JMU timeout on consecutive kills from Winterhoff, making the score 13-9.
Down 20-13, eight consecutive points from the Dukes gave the home team a 21-20 lead. The run was capped with an ace from Julia McNeley.
JMU gained a 24-23 lead on a kill from Schnell before the Mountaineers prevailed on two straight kills from Winterhoff.

Fifth Set: App State 15-9

The teams switched sides with JMU holding a slim 8-7 lead.
After the Dukes took back a 9-8 advantage on a kill from Smith, the visitors stormed to a five-set victory to secure the reverse sweep.

Match Notes

The attendance of 755 is the second highest at the Convocation Center since JMU moved to the arena ahead of the 2023 season.
Sarah Schnell's 12 total blocks are the most for a JMU player since Lizzy Briones tallied 15 on Nov. 21, 2014 against Towson.
It is the first time the Dukes have lost a match leading 2-0 since Sept. 6, 2019 against Kennesaw State.

Up Next
JMU will travel to Atlanta to take on Georgia State on Oct. 4-5.